From The Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM — Jermaine “FunnyMaine” Johnson has been charged with inciting a riot and turned himself in to the Jefferson County Jail. He was released on a $500 bond, according to Carol Robinson of al.com. His attorney, Emory Anthony told Robinson that Johnson was not guilty.
The arrest likely stems from a May 31 incident which began as a peaceful day of protest in Birmingham and morphed into a night of violence involving businesses being looted, vandalized and burned.
The mood began to turn at Linn Park in Birmingham on Sunday evening when protestors began to deface and then attempted to take down a Confederate monument during a rally for George Floyd. The statue of Charles Linn was ripped from its foundation and cast upon the ground as the night devolved into mayhem.
The move to take down the statue began during a speech from comedian Jermaine “FunnyMaine” Johnson as the crowd gathered to protest the murder of George Floyd, who was killed by a Minnesota police officer. Demonstrators first took down the plywood barrier protecting the monument and then spray painted and chipped away at it. They then placed a rope around the monument and attempted to pull it down.
The the crowd then spread through downtown smashing windows, looting businesses and assaulting members of the media.
